Heartfelt Prayer

Last night after dinner we had our family devotions. It’s always a bit of a challenge to get two teenagers and a 7 year old to focus on the same thought for 10 minutes. There’s the age difference, there’s the difference in level of knowledge, and there’s this little thing called attention span. So we made it through, finished our thoughts, and I gave a little challenge.

We always close in prayer together. Sometimes I pray, but I like to give the kids a chance to pray as well. I hadn’t asked Garren in a while, so I said “Garren, will you pray tonight?”

He said “Yes.” He started to bow his head, then he paused, looked back up, and said, “Wait, I need prayer requests. Kara, what’s your prayer request?” She was caught off guard, so he looked at me. “Dad?”
I said “You can pray about your doctors appointments tomorrow. And we have a praise, that your nursing got extended.”
He looked at Kelsey. She said “Pray for Uncle Hu. He’s in the hospital, pray that he feels better.”
Then Garren asked Nancy for a prayer request. She said “Pray for Nanna, she just had surgery today. She’s a little sore.”
Back to Kara. She said “Pray for the boy, Alex, who is in the hospital with the brain injury.”

Garren went back around, trying to remember each of the requests, then he folded his hands, and as he bowed his head he said “I hope I can remember all those.”

Then I heard one of the most heartfelt prayers I’ve ever heard. Garren prayed from his heart, directly to God. He meant every word. He wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed. It wasn’t forced, it wasn’t a copy of what he’d heard before.

“Dear Lord,

I pray for Alex in the hospital. 

Help him to get better quickly.

I pray for my doctors appointments tomorrow. 

I pray for my swallow test, I hope it goes well. 

And Lord I praise you that my nursing got extended. 

It’s such a blessing because my mom and dad can get some sleep.

I pray for Nanna and Grandma and Grandpa. 

I hope she feels better soon.

I pray for Uncle Hu, and Aunt Sherril. 

I pray that he feels better and can move from ICU soon. 

And I pray for Aunt Sue. 

She has surgery on Friday. 

Let the surgery help her so she doesn’t have to deal with it anymore.

In Jesus name, 

Amen.”

Nancy and I were blown away. We were so in awe, and completely amazed at how genuine his prayer was. It was refreshing and exciting to be a part of. I look forward to many more.

Another Deadline

Tonight is our last night of nursing as approved by Medicaid. We have submitted all the paperwork for approval to continue with the overnight help. We are just waiting to hear back from them. Please pray that they come through again.

I started asking questions about Garren's swallowing earlier this week. First I asked his speech therapist. I just wondered, could there be something going on with Garren's throat that we haven't even considered? Could there possibly be some kind of blockage? Scar tissue maybe? Could there be more to this than the neurological issues we've been pointing to?

So Nancy called the ENT. He approved another swallow study and is going to see Garren again next week. The swallow study is so that the doctor will have the very latest data to work with. I know many of you have been praying for Garren to swallow. I also know that God's plan is better than our plan. My prayer now is that somehow, someway, we might discover something that can help Garren move past this.

I'll keep you updated! Thanks for praying.

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm sitting at the hospital watching Garren walk on the Locomat machine. He's got three therapists working with him, helping his body learn to walk. Sometimes it seems like this is taking an eternity. But looking back over the past several months we have a lot to be thankful for.

Last week while I was gone in Haiti, Garren did something pretty amazing. He surprised us all! One night, while Nancy was upstairs putting Kelsey to bed, he realized he needed a shower (of course that is an amazing realization for any 14 year old boy!)

So he went into his bathroom and got himself into the shower, washed himself, washed his hair, got dressed, brushed his teeth, and brushed his hair...all by himself. Garren has really begun to become more independent. He continues to surprise us with the things he does. He baked cookies and brought them to me when they picked me up from the airport.

The other night I gave him a surprise. I rented one of his favorite Xbox 360 video games. It's one he's been asking for. I wanted to see if he would play it before I paid the money to buy it. Amazingly, he hasn't stopped playing it since I brought it home! He's pretty good at it too (don't tell him it's good therapy).

We have a lot to be thankful for. And though we know that God isn't finished with Garren, we do want to remember to give Him the glory for all He has done.

I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!